Cruz Letter to DOJ on Biden Pardons: “A Direct and Unprecedented Assault on Our Constitutional Order”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi supporting the Department of Justice’s investigation into the Biden administration’s mass pardons and committing to ensure the Department has the resources needed to complete it.
Excerpts and highlights from the letter:
“Public reporting has called into question whether President Biden personally established the final criteria used for pardons throughout his administration, especially after the 2024 election, and the use of an autopen eliminates what might have been assurances provided through a signature. This uncertainty alone, which is unprecedented in the history of the Republic, risks a Constitutional crisis in which the other branches and the American people cannot have faith that the President’s Article II pardon power was legitimately deployed.
“If the integrity of the clemency process was broken by Biden officials, such that the relevant actions were not taken at the President’s explicit direction, the status of the pardons and commutations would at a minimum be cast into doubt, and the officials involved in approving and using the autopens should be held accountable.
“The Department of Justice is engaged in what will no doubt be multi-year investigations to establish transparency and accountability regarding those acts, and I reiterate that I stand ready to provide whatever resources are necessary to ensure the success of those investigations.”
Click here to read the full letter.
BACKGROUND
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On December 12th, 2024, the Biden administration commuted the sentences of roughly 1,500 inmates and pardoned 39 others, and on January 17th, 2025, the administration issued 2,490 additional commutations, more in a single day than any President had ever granted over an entire presidency.
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These clemencies were issued based on broad criteria rather than case-by-case evaluations, and at least some were signed using an autopen of then-President Biden’s signature.
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In June, Senator Cruz participated in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to investigate the issue.
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